AASync

© Copyright Robert Vasvari, 2005-2009.

TroubleShooting - Logs and such...


What to do when things do not work, or something you expect does not happen? Well, AAsync has many built-in diagnostics one can look at to see where things go wrong. First the logs. AASync has different logs which chronicle the workings of various parts of the program.
  • AASyncService.log - maintained by the service that executes scheduled syncs in the background. This log tells you how the service is working, reading in changed configurations, executing syncs (see below on how to view these logs).
  • The sync log that contains the details of a sync run, changed files, procedures, etc. This is the log that one needs to look at as a standard part of beckup procedure to make sure changed files really did get picked up by the sync engine and got backed up properly. This log can be mailed to the administrator automatically (see SMTP settings).

    • AASync stores all of its configurations in its data folder (AADataFolder from now on), which is under
    BOOTDRIVE:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AASync\[Username] (on XP or win2003) and or BOOTDRIVE:\ProgramData\AASync\[Username] (alternatively BOOTDRIVE:\Users\All Users\AASync\[Username]) on Vista. The Options/Open AASync Data Folder menu will open this folder as a convenience. Under that folder the Logs folder contains the the sync logs in a time based hierachial format. This makes it easy to find the log of a sync run based on what day it ran. For each sync run a sync log is produced, except in the case when logging is turned off on the Preferences Panel's General tab. The sync log is in the format syncID_RUN#.log (like 2029388066_0.log). Sync runs (scheduled or manual) produce a sync log, they are filed under the sync owner's username in the AAdataFolder [AADataFolder]\SyncConfig\[SyncID]\Logs\[year]\[month]\[day]\[syncID_runnumber].log Like E:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AASync\vrobi\SyncConfig\1749317862\Logs\y2009\m4\d17 for example.
    IMPORTANT: if you have any problem with a sync, set its log level to "Verbose". This is the most verbose (debug) format, which, if analyzed, usually gives you the answer to whatever problem you are having. AASyncService.log contains important messages about AASync service registering/rereading/executing syncs. Check this log if there are any problems with executing scheduled syncs in the background. This log is generated every day, so be sure to look at the correct one! If you have a persistent problem and would like to contact support, be sure to include the log and a detailed description of what the problem is.

    Here are the most common problems and what to do about them:

    During browsing a remote host to set the target folder, the browser window just hangs or returns some error message.

    This is usually due to network problems preventing access to the remote host, maybe the host is down, or for whatever reason it does not accept incoming connections. Also, it is possible that your own firewall is preventing you from reaching other hosts on the outside. In that case ask you sysadmin about what to do. AASync supports the common forms of access through firewalls, like SOCKS and the FTP Firewall Toolkit. It is also common that users mistype the hostname/username/password which can produce various errors during browsing.

    A sync that has worked before is hanging now nothing happens, eventually it times out.

    Network/server problems can happen any time, just because the server worked one day, does not mean that it will always work. Also, your login privileges may have been changed/revoked, etc.. In whatever case, LOOK AT THE DEBUG LOG, it usually tells you what the error is. It sometimes happens that the remote machine's setup changes, and suddenly things do not work anymore, even though you still have access to the host. In this case edit this sync and try to reset the remote source or destination folder. The browsing process clears the cached setting for the remote host, so if anything changed, it will work fine after browsing the host and resetting the remote folder. In an extreme case, you can try to set up another sync with the same endpoints. If it works, delete the troubled one.. We must tell you though that this is very rare...

    Scheduled sync did not execute

    Once you set the schedule on a sync, the changes will be picked up by the AASync Cron Service that will execute the scheduled sync in the background. If the new schedule was saved and the sync is not executing, it is time to read the service logs. Select the Operations/Open AASync Configuration folder menu. That will open Explorer and take you to the top folder containing all of AASync's configurations and log data. Scheduled syncs execute by the service that runs as user 'SYSTEM' so navigate into SYSTEM/Logs/yxxx/mxxx/dxxx (the current date). Find AASyncService.log in the current day's folder.
    The log needs to start like this:
    AASync: AASyncServiceStarted at 4/21/2009 9:09:58 AM
    AASyncService: AASync_Cron_Service has registered a license, 4/21/2009 9:10:06 AM
    If that line is not there, you have licensing problems. Scheduled syncs require a license.
    When you save your sync there needs to be a line like:

    AASyncService: Reloaded sync definition for user: vrobi SyncName:outlook-local-copy [1749317862] ck:[314] at 4/21/2009 9:44:47 AM
    This means AASync Cron Service has read the changed configuration and it is ready to execute when the time comes. The execution should leave the following lines in the log:
    AASyncRunner: AASyncRunner RunSync: [21924020] user: vrobi AASyncRunner: started sync 192.168.1.53_Outlook Express_outlook_2192 [21924020] at 4/20/2009 3:31:04 PM AASyncRunner: config 192.168.1.53_Outlook Express_outlook_2192 [21924020] completed at 4/20/2009 3:31:07 PM Duration: 0h:0m:3s AASyncService: Reloaded sync definition for user: vrobi SyncName:outlook-local-copy [1749317862] ck:[312] at 4/20/2009 3:31:06 PM AASyncService: AASyncRunner.exe ExitCode: 0 AASyncService: config 192.168.1.53_Outlook Express_outlook_2192 Sending Log AASyncService: config 192.168.1.53_Outlook Express_outlook_2192 Sent Log, result: True AASyncService: config 192.168.1.53_Outlook Express_outlook_2192 [21924020] has completed at 4/20/2009 3:31:10 PM

    Also, after execution, if you fire up AASync app, the sync in question should have its own log, viewable by right clik on the sync and select the "Show last log" menu. If everything looks fine and the sync still does not execute, mail us the sync log and we will have a look...

    I launched AASync, it shows that one of my syncs is runnning, but I can't see the log messages.

    If a sync was started by the service in the background, AASync will show that it is running, it will also show the result status after the sync completes. However, it cannot show the log messages real time, since the sync is running in the service. After completion, the Show Log button in AASync will open the last log generated by the service run. So, if the sync is set to execute in the middle of the night in the background, you can see the results in the morning by launching AASync.

    The sync executes, but there are many messages in the log about files missing, bad characters, etc..

    There can be many problems during a sync, unreadable files in the source, other premissions settings preventing from AASync from reading the files, file name incompatibilities between your Windows box and the remote system you connect to, etc.. they are just too manu to list. You must read these messages and decide what, if any, you want to do about them. Permissions can be changed, files can be removed, etc. Only you can decide how many and what kind of errors are acceeptable to you. It pays to think through how much of the backed up data you REALLY need and structure your folders accordingly, backing up only the ones you really need.

    AASync is a trademark of Robert Vasvari.

    Please send requests, suggestions and bug reports to: (@)